View From the Bushes

I'm here somewhat late at work, while some mysterious problem ravages our network. It's not really my area of responsibility, but I'm staying anyway to help troubleshoot and to offer moral support. And perhaps to gain some social capital to counterbalance all that I have spent telling French jokes to my boss (who, as you'll recall, is a frog), which brings up the point of teaching my children a second language. See, despite all my derisive comments about the French, I'm actually something of a fracophile, though admittedly less so in the last few years, for any number of reasons. But my wife would like them to learn Spanish and therein lies the conflict.

I can certainly see the argument for Spanish: for one thing it increases their employability enormously. I can't count the number of times I've seen ads for jobs where knowledge of Spanish is a prerequesite or at least a recommendation, and certainly they'll have a lot of people to practice on. On the other hand, one of my big requirements for a second language is access to great literature in it's original tongue. If my kids learn Spanish all that gets them is Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Cervantes. French gets them any number of authors. Of course, maybe if this is my primary criteria I should have them learn Russian. Apparently, Tolstoy is much better in the original.

Well the problems continue, and despite the time spent waiting I have been unable to find any decent links or at least any decent links that are newsworthy, and having dragged this out for long enough, I think I'll end.

Carpe Diem Quam Minimum Credula Postero
Ross